Thank you for this opportunity to apply for the "awesome project! Kindness is contagious, and I appreciate the trustees’ time and effort. Tenaciously Teal (T. Teal) was born out of my own desire to spread kindness to others, but it came about in an unusual way. T. Teal evolved over time, but originally started with a tenaciouslyteal.blogspot.com page where I wrote about life, God, and Cancer. Teal is the color for Ovarian Cancer Awareness, and I was 29 yro when I was diagnosed with stage IV. After my second surgery, I spent a week in the hospital, and was encouraged to walk as much as I could. While I perused the hallways to maintain my strength, I was in awe of how many people there were around me who were hurting and grappling with the terms of a cancer diagnosis. A poignant moment in my fight was the realization many were battling with little support or strength for the battle, which is when I became determined to spread hope to patients in an impactful way.

My oncologist scheduled me for sixteen months of chemo, and after getting started I began to bring a few “Cancer Care Packs” to patients I came across at chemo who were in need. I sold many teal bracelets and t-shirts, and used the money to put the Care Packs together. A Care Pack included things I utilized during my own fight including; hand sanitizer, protein bars, Kleenex, chap stick, green tea, mints, warm/fuzzy socks, puzzle books etc. What started as 10-15 Care Packs quickly grew to 40-50 each time I went, and grew throughout my treatment until I finished chemo in April 2014. T. Teal is now a recognized Non-Profit and distributes Cancer Care Packs at the Stephenson Cancer Center and Pro Cure in Oklahoma City. We also mail Care Packs across the nation, and we hope to distribute Care Packs in at least two more Cancer treatment centers in 2015. In addition, T. Teal gave $4,000 in gas and meal cards to patients identified as being in need in 2014, and also distributed close to 1,000 Care Packs.